Is there a $190 paddle you don’t have to modify? That must mean the paddles not good enough. I’ll just buy a cheaper paddle if I’m going to modify it

Update, I used this paddle for about four hours last night. It is by far the best paddle I’ve ever used and I’m so glad that I got it. I have the J7K Pro, Shogun, Vanguard Invikta, Mach 1 forza and this is by far the best balanced paddle I’ve ever felt.

For all the cutting edge tech gearbox waves around those twist and swing weight numbers are rough. In general I’ve ever only seen 5 gb paddles at my rec courts where there’s 80people at busy times ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

Gearbox Pro is still my favorite. I have the new Paddleteks and kept my Gen3 Joolas.

Thank you for your detailed explanation.

I think the trend will be towards control rather than power.

The SW to TW ratio is a tough pill to swallow. I thought the PPE was a pretty underwhelming, incredibly unforgiving, and extremely challenging paddle to gauge resets and control oriented shots and this seems to be unfortunately similar. Great review as always dude

Great deep dive John. I'll stick with my GB Pro E original for now. I'm a "POP" guy. Hope GB uses your suggestion on a wider face.

The original elongated GearBox Pro Power Paddle is the ultimate and a person has the option to add lead weights to The original elongated GearBox Pro Power Paddle to change the characteristics of the GearBox Pro Power Paddle for more stability and control if that is what they want. if a person wants the control of the ultimate then buy the Gearbox Pro Control Elongated. The ultimate should not have been compared to the GearBox Pro Power Paddle but rather the ultimate should have been compared to the Gearbox Pro Control Elongated pickleball paddle. I would like to see the original elongated GearBox Pro Power Paddle in a wide body format with a handle long enough for 2 handed backhands.

Thanks always happy to see new paddles coming out great reviews

Hee Hee Haw! Number crunchers love your work and usually listen to the entire vid more than 2X!.

Wow, another cheat paddle

You are my Favorite TV series John... I call it "The John and Eddie Show."

Why is Gearbox allowed to use foam in the core, but nobody else can?

I’m still trying to figure out how a paddle with an all foam core is legal?

John, what are you using on your scale @14:03 in the video to hold the paddle upright? I have the same exact scale and run into the same issue trying to weigh certain paddles.

Twist weight, if you don't block in the center, you lose?

Still plays like a foam paddle and delaminated paddle. I'm surprised it's still legal paddle. 🤷‍♂️

Boy, that such an expensive piece of hardware requires so much modification is very disappointing. Hope Gearbox figures this out, no bueno.

Isn't foam and eva foam not allowed to be used in a core. Cut open there is barely any carbon fiber. Thin pillars. The majority of the core is foam.

I’ve been using the new Ultimate paddle for a few weeks and likely 50 hours or more. Much better all around paddle than the power pro. It is less muted w power but huge increases on its ability to reset and control the paddle. Most are aware of the power of the pro power and speed up hard at the paddle hoping the ball w bounce off and go out of bounds. This has changed. Also my slices seem much Better, my serves much more consistant and adding weight to the handle and throat really helped. Love this paddle!!!

Just got this paddle at a local shop in Jax who's been partnered with Gearbox for years here in Jacksonville. Excited to give it a go!

Same price

Just ordered one with your discount code. Currently using Volair Mach 2 forza.

One of the inherent problems with the new gearbox designs is the overly wide perimeter frame that is needed to achieve the required strength. A ball struck near this frame edge or on it rebounds in a vastly different way than in the “sweet spot”. More typically, paddles have a uniform core design and an edge guard giving them the needed strength in a more uniform way and an inherently larger sweet spot. With the 16mm width , I would hope that gearbox took advantage of the ability to narrow up that wide perimeter frame. If gearbox developed a 7.5”+ width, they could further “shave “ down that wide perimeter non-responsive frame area a little more and of course with the overall width increase - greatly improve the “sweet spot” area. However, I could believe that it’s possible that a wider design might have some currently unsolved variability issues across the “sweet spot” that they are throwing some R &D effort at. I would further speculate that the current offerings may have greater variability across the sweet spot than more traditional paddle designs. Watch out if they improve that characteristic!

Pro power Waa waa. Less fun cry cry! Get over it the game is going to power

Why buy a gearbox when you can get better and cheaper options. They're crazy. I lump them in with selkirk.

The pro power has taken some of the fun out of the game. I’d like to see it fade away. When someone plays with that paddle , the points end more quickly not necessarily in their favor. Of course they do land some awesome shots but generally they miss direct the majority of the balls they hit to some degree.

When my arm gets tired playing with my hybrid Kevlar paddle, I switch to the Gearbox Pro Power. It feels lighter and gives me more power with less effort. I like what i heard in this video about the Ultimate having better feels and more control. I'm not rushing out to get it, especially at that price. I agree with John that they need to put their technology into a hybrid shape paddle.

20:21 So happy we’re starting to see dedicated chapters on spin durability to keep OEMs honest about sustainability. You know what they say, “what gets measured, gets managed”.

I’m so happy you reviewed the light version. I’ve been using standard weights for several years and have switched to lights last season. 7.8-7.9. I did have to add some weight to the sides offsetting the twist rate but I was really surprised how much it improved my game. After using many thermoformed paddles I went back to the gen 1 Engage Pursuit Pro Mx 16mm. I have a pro 1 on order. It’s going to have to be great to outdo my pro but will see. I just like the softer feel of the gen 1 over the hard thermal formed paddles. I don’t feel like I’m paying more for less regarding old technology however if they did away with their veteran first responder discounts I would reconsider as there are definitely paddles at half the price that would be enticing…

Great vid!

Great production value. Top notch.

John how much weight do you put on the paddle sides ?? Did you also use the light or heavy pickleball effect tungsten?

Sounds good however I’ll wait a while, to see how good the durability proves to be.

Does the new paddle still sound like you're hitting a wood paddle? Thunk, thunk, thunk? Yes or No? That was the worst part about the last paddle.

DJ Kew with the fire soundtracks!

Any thoughts on if or where adding some weight might be beneficial for this paddle? For those of us less educated on how to change or improve a paddle with weights that would be a good update for this short review! Cheers.

Well done John.

Hey john you plan to review the mod ta-15?

@JohnKew I would love to know your thoughts on the Pro Ultimate compared to the Pro Control. I demoed the Pro Power and Pro Control and settled on the Control model because I liked the overal feel of the paddle. The only thing I wish was better on the Control is Pop.

Thanks John

Great review Doc. I so really hoped for a comparison to the GB Pro Control EL. how does this new one stack up against that. My wife currently plays exclusively with the GB PC EL, and it's getting time to replace her paddle and im really wondering about the difference in play between these two paddles. She isn't one for drastic change, but I would buy her the Ultimate if it's an improvement over the GB PC EL. Thanks for any insight! P.s. Your background of the studio matches the GB SST core.

Imagine a widebody with the SST core. I cannot believe they missed this opportunity. Would've been one of the deadliest paddles at the kitchen + solid twist weight/forgiveness from the widebody design still with plenty of power from the baseline and good pop from the core. I tried the ultimate early from a rep and wouldn't pick one up again. The combination of high SW and low TW with poor control relative to other paddles is just a non-starter and made me a liability in doubles.

This is my favorite TV series....thank you for all your informative reviews!

Too expensive.

Absolutely great review John -- its wonderfully indepth as always. Thank you for the update on the USAP and Gearbox paddles. BTW I absolutely loved the 24 mins to nerdtown (credit @PickleballPursuit for the term) and would much rather watch this than half an episode of my favorite show. Thanks and keep in making this wonderful content!

I wonder how this compares to the gearbox PPE control version….??

Well done. In my bag I carry the Gearbox Pro Power Elite as my power choice and the Volair Mach 2 Forza 16 for control. As a female player who likes to play mixed doubles I'm compensating for less power ability by using my power paddle, but switching out with my Volair when I want to practice drops and resets and finer aspects of the soft game. I'm not tempted just yet to switch out my Volair for the Ultimate but I'm also confidant Gearbox will listen to your final comments and continue to move technology forward.

Sounds like they touched on sweet spot issues comparing the original Pro and getting closer to the Gen 3 but really missed the mark on spin. Increased spin helps with lots of power as top spin helps keep the ball in. I think this was one of the great successes of the Gen 3 along with it's sweet spot. Looking forward now to your Mod TA-15 review. Mine arrives Thursday but I'll be out of town for a few days so using my Thrive Azul while traveling. Really hoping the Mod TA-15 is at least 95% of the same specs and feel of the Gen 3. If so it will still be a winner and my paddle of choice. Totally agree about Gearbox having the best tech (and build quality/feel) of any paddle on the market.